Liberal Meltdown On Healthcare and GOP Betrayal — Three, Two, One…

Right on time comes a classic liberal meltdown on Healthcare…Actually I don’t like the current health insurance but for a different reason–I will get to that a bit later in this article…

Truth In Satire
America F — ked In The Butt By Three Huge Dicks Trying To Repeal Obamacare
Affordable health coverage for millions ravaged and left for dead by trio of Republican sadists living in pocket of insurance providers
ExtraNewsFeed
Blog by Allan Ishac
June 25, 2017

Finally scratching his seven-year-itch to repeal Obamacare, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell ended weeks of secret meetings to draft a revised health bill that is even more sadistic than the measure Paul Ryan and his House cronies put forward in May.

“Mr. Ryan and I had a vigorous competition to see who could decimate the Affordable Care Act more ruthlessly, and I do believe the Senate won,” said a smiling Mr. McConnell while announcing his bill on Thursday. “We’re also thrilled to have the support of President Trump who has now changed his mind about our bill being ‘mean,” and is now calling it “sweet, kind, and generous…to health insurance companies.”

“I’ve heard from many of my wealthy constituents and it’s clear they really love our revised health care plan,” said Sen. McConnell. “There’s nothing quite so satisfying for me as Senate leader than to gut to the bone entitlements like Medicaid, while ensuring that my treasury is full in preparation for the next American election cycle.”

Missouri is said to have one of the better health insurance programs in the country according to CBPP June 13, 2016. Ballotpedia lists the following information about the state: in 2014, received $10.1 billion in federal aid or about 38% of its general revenue; spent $24 billion or $4,042 per capita in 2014; fiscal year 2015, Medicaid accounted for 36.1 percent of Missouri’s total expenditures; debt of $19.3 billion in fiscal year 2015; and, ranked 17th in states for debt and 26th in per capita debt.

Missouri’s Medicaid program is called MO HealthNet. MO HealthNet covers qualified medical expenses for individuals who meet certain eligibility requirements. Eligible individuals receive a “MO HealthNet Identification Card” or a letter from the Family Support Division identifying them as eligible for certain medical care services.

In the current new budget, the governor, Greiten, vetoed an 11th-hour deal by lawmakers to spare cuts to medical care for an estimated 8,000 elderly and disabled residents, as well as reductions in how much nursing homes, hospitals and doctors are reimbursed.

“Politicians were trying to spend money we don’t have. So we’re left with two choices: Raise taxes or cut spending. I will not raise your taxes,” said Greitens. He reduced the budget by nearly a quarter of a billion. Within the spending items, the governor is cutting more from the state’s public universities. The governor also said the Department of Social Services will pare $30 million from its budget. The governor also signed Senate Bill 139, which extends the life of the Missouri Rx program. However, the maneuver also brings an end to prescription drug co-pay assistance for more than 63,000 residents who no longer qualify under income guidelines.

In other words, one could say that despite the want to meet social services, hard choices are going to have to be made even for the states currently who have some degree of health services insurance and assistance. Does the state end up losing any decent rating or consider bankruptcy or does the majority of the state survive maybe with less but possibly a more realistic balanced budget?

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Let’s take a quick look at two countries with socialized services around the world.

United Kingdom

In one 2014 article, the UK was extolled as one of the world’s best healthcare programs. In the Commonwealth Fund study the UK came first out of the 11 countries in eight of the 11 measures of care the authors looked at. Yet in a Health Index it did not even rank in the top thirty socialized medicine programs. However by January 2016, they were called “So Bad, Doctors Don’t Even Want To Practice There” and doctors especially those in training were walking off their jobs over pay and working conditions.

Germany

Germany has long had the most restriction-free and consumer-oriented healthcare system in Europe. Euro Health Consumer Index in 2014 ranked them 9th world wide. By 2016, it has risen to 7th world wide. (The consumer index is suspect from my vantage point as a political propaganda machine given the influx of refugees and the strain on governments.) According to an article in BBC, apparently Germany has figured out how to make the socialized setting work if talking to individuals by focusing on prevention first. Response and wait times are nearly unheard of again according to the article. It is also based on state funded, private funded, and specialty programs (like for refugees). Germany’s spending on health care is relatively high, just over 11% of its wealth. During that time patients might be offered a range of interventions to improve their health provided locally, which frees up time for the GP. It is being run by a company called Gesundes Kinzigtal in which the doctors are majority shareholders. Already a couple of years into their 10-year project, they say healthcare is costing 6% less than you would expect for the population. German Health Insurance System web page explains more on the topic if anyone is interested.

Medical abuse leading to rationing and decisions by a few as to who can be treated, what is acceptable, and where

Higher taxes in order to support the system

Little to no competition leading to little or no true innovation

Trials and errors lead to long term difficulties like technical issues and adjustments of citizens and health professionals

High increase in government debt and financial solvency issues

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So while all those liberal bunnies are ranting about moving to countries where socialized medicine is the “soup dejour”, they probably need to actually consider the issues and what they can expect. They are certainly welcome to move but that is only IF the country allows them entry….that could be a serious problem considering the current state of the world.

If in fact Germany has figured out how best to function within a socialized health setting, then perhaps before setting the US on another spiraling course, those idiots in congress should at least give it consideration. Though I do think realistically, they are not as “rosy” a picture as some would have the world believe.

Those in congress no matter which group need to sit down, shut up, and rethink their idiocy. Democrats we already knew were a problem–BUT THE GOP groups are betraying their directives from when they were elected and now. No borders insurance with federal oversight rules to assure the companies are capable of honoring their claims does provide a free market system that realistically should bring down the coverage for the average healthy workers and bring together a pool of insurance companies more willing to cover those desperately needing more.

My two cents has always been:

Step one: REPEAL Obamacare – No ifs, ands, or buts…

Step two: REPLACE with open borders health insurance for the 70% or so who are despite age healthy according to the income and decisions made by each person. Standard riders allowing for women’s health, pre-existing clauses, benefits similar to auto insurance for those who are good health prevention advocates and use the services to reduce future health problems, and state oversight of health professionals and institutions to maintain reasonable cost of living payments for services based upon a state’s focus and understanding of their citizens not on some federal board. Using state-run health savings accounts that the individuals pay into regardless of employment changes and challenges makes sense in order to delete Cobra insurance or high risk pools and to keep a continuous coverage regardless of job changes or businesses fraudulent health insurance practices. Let competition create lower cost insurance for healthy individuals.

Step three: Provide medicare/medicaid grant amounts equal to XXX from the federal government so that a national medicare agency can reduce its overall employee base to one of reference or oversight. States then provide into the medicare/medicaid system equal to their income schedules and vet users to those who need catastrophic and long-term care as well as elderly only. A pool of high risk carriers willing to be paid from the grant and state dollars could then be provided for those needing assistance so they could choose who they want to be covered by which still provides some flexibility for individual choices and yet still provides a safety factor that the choices are state approved. Those who are in the country illegally and immigrants awaiting citizenship would be allowed on special programs to receive care while either being removed from the country or until they get a naturalization green card at least thereby hopefully forestalling serious outbreaks and health drains on economy.

I am no healthcare expert but I have had years of experience in the private, government, and now retired disabled sector to realize NO SYSTEM will ever be perfect but doing nothing OR doing everything through federal government simply does nothing but bankrupt everyone from citizen to state to our national economy.

No mention of the Canadian system– the wait times would be unacceptable to Americans, and the restrictions intolerable. For example, a patient with colon cancer that had wrapped around an artery was refused surgery because it would have been “experimental”. He died 6 months later.

A 50-ish postal carrier had worn out his knees and needs knee replacements. He was told, “You’re too young for knee replacements– come back in ten years”.

Another, with severe back pain, had to wait 3 months to get pain meds, another 6 months for an MRI, and now was told he need physical therapy to see if that will help.

OMG Wise Owl. That is horrible but actually in the news this past week was the parents of a baby in Europe that was Denied the right to move the child to a hospital in the US that might save its life. Effectively dooming it to certain death.

The GOPe never thought they would see the day HC would be repealed. So it was safe to campaign on it. Never expected Trump to win and have the whole shebang.
Now they are in a catch 22 with lobbyists and PACS. Not sure if they are up to putting on their big boy pants and doing what is right for Americans. IMO Ryan and McConnell need to be replaced ASAP.

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